Academic literature on the topic 'Befitting act'

Abstract This article investigates the policy and practice of Australia's so-called ‘eugenic phase’ of border control embedded within the 1912 Immigration Act. It highlights the efforts of the first London-based Commonwealth Medical Officer - Dr William Perrin Norris - who designed a medical bureaucratic system intended to keep ‘defectives’ out of Australia. Norris' vision is revealed to be befitting of his character, experience, and a passion for uniformity which went beyond his legal jurisdiction. In examining the associated political debates, procedural instructions and the practicalities of the legislation, this article advances a more nuanced historical understanding of this period of Australian border control, and traces the evolution of the idiot and insane prohibited immigrant clause in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

In the arena of solubility enhancement, several problems are encountered. A novel approach based on lipid drug delivery system has evolved, pharmacosomes. Pharmacosomes are colloidal, nanometric size micelles, vesicles or may be in the form of hexagonal assembly of colloidal drug dispersions attached covalently to the phospholipid. They act as befitting carrier for delivery of drugs quite precisely owing to their unique properties like small size, amphiphilicity, active drug loading, high entrapment efficiency, and stability. They help in controlled release of drug at the site of action as well as in reduction in cost of therapy, drug leakage and toxicity, increased bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs, and restorative effects. There has been advancement in the scope of this delivery system for a number of drugs used for inflammation, heart diseases, cancer, and protein delivery along with a large number of herbal drugs. Hence, pharmacosomes open new challenges and opportunities for improved novel vesicular drug delivery system.

With fanfare befitting the arrival of a god of the Western material world, U.S. President Bill Clinton toured Southern Africa imparting “words of wisdom” along the way. His aim, we were told, was to see that the United States becomes Africa’s “true partner.” The reason being, according to Clinton, “[a]s Africa grows strong, America grows stronger ... Yes, Africa needs the world, but more than ever it is equally true that the world needs Africa.” To this end, the United States would pursue a mix of political and economic policies that included the African Crisis Response Initiative and the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, both designed to foster “stability” and “prosperity” on the continent. Lofty goals, to be sure, but ends whose means are badly in need of interrogation. This article does just that: To wit, does Clinton, on behalf of U.S. policymakers, mean what he says? If so, in naming “peace” and “prosperity,” can he make them? Put differently, does the Clinton administration have the power to introduce order where there was chaos? Or will it only compound existing problems and visit new ones upon those who had few to begin with?

Puxty et al. (1987, p. 273) argue that a concern with the social context is important if accountants are to understand their position and roles in society and if the significance of accountancy is to be assessed. In a case study format where qualitative data were gathered mainly from primary and secondary source materials and semi-structured, open-ended interviews of selected participants, the study focused on what took place in the nation's accounting arena and its immediate surrounding following the violence between Malays and Chinese in May 1969. The New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1971 changed the direction of the Malaysian economy away from a full free enterprise economy in the earlier years. As a result, the Companies Act 1965 and Accountants Act 1967 which together were aimed to facilitate the emergence of such an economy were mainly left unapplied until the mid-1980s when several important facets of the NEP were ended. In addition, the Malaysian Association of Certified Public Accountants' debilitating conduct in the field of accounting examination and training and that of promulgation/adoption of accounting/auditing standards had certainly not helped in improving the situation. All in all, accounting in Malaysia during the NEP era was in an uncertain and unsatisfactory state perhaps befitting the context it was in where the government played the main role in the nation's economy. Thus when it concerned the accounting profession and related matters in the NEP era, following Hopper et al. (1987), it can be argued that accounting development in Malaysia had been implicated in broader ideological and political struggles in the society. Keywords: Accounting, Malaysia, New Economic Policy, Malaysian Institute of Accountants, Malaysian Association of Certified Public Accountants, social context.

Since the explosion of the human rights movement in the early 1970s, civil-society organizations have played a key role in the inter-American human rights system (IAS). In the era of dictatorships, they provided the information necessary for the Inter-American Commission to be able to act in the face of uncooperative states. When democracy returned to the region, these organizations grew in number, and their role within the IAS likewise expanded. In particular, a set of organizations that focused on legal strategies and the activation of regional human rights protection mechanisms cropped up. These organizations have, at a more abstract and general level, contributed to the juridification of human rights struggles and ultimately to the creation of a legal field. They have also largely set the agenda of the IAS, although the agenda-setting power has been limited to a small number of organizations that constitute the system's “repeat players.” In a manner befitting their systemic importance, these organizations have tried to make sure the organs of the IAS run smoothly, and to defend them when they come under attack. This essay explores the different roles that human rights NGOs have played in the history of the IAS and suggests that the strategy of increasing juridification that they have pursued since the region's return to democracy might have reached its limits.

Dress or clothing normally represents or reflects the belief system, tradition, and identity of a society. India being a multicultural nation is befitting example especially when it comes to its northeastern states. It is a true emblem of multiculturalism and diversity perfectly reflected through its dresses. The northeastern states depict an integrated picture of rich bio and socio-cultural diversity. And this is true about Meghalaya. The tribes of Meghalaya, namely Khasi, Jaintia, and Garo follow the matrilineal societal structure and maintain a close relationship with nature. Pradip Kurbah’s Khasi film Onaatah: Of the Earth (2016) illustrates how social views around women are formed in the different spaces of the ‘feminine’ and the ‘masculine’ and its repercussions. The film revolves around the life of a rape survivor and her journey towards healing from the consequences of the grotesque act upon her body and depicting society’s reaction to such an incident. This paper draws on ecofeminist ideology to understand the director’s use of dress as a narrative tool in the film to show the association between the protagonist, Onaatah, and nature, and also trace upon the impact of nature in giving Onaatah a new perspective and healing in the process. The ecofeminist perspective is instrumental to the analysis of the film in relation to the society being matrilineal in its practice of kinship but patriarchal in authority and thus in its treatment of the marginalised – women and nature.

Here, a series of half-sandwich arene Ru(II) complexes with difluorinated ligands [Ru(η6-arene)(L)Cl] (L1 = 2-(2,3-difluorophenyl)imidazole[4,5f][1,10]-phenanthroline; L2 = 2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)imidazole[4,5f][1,10]-phenanthroline; arene = benzene, toluene, and p-cymene) were synthesized and characterized. Molecular docking analysis showed that these complexes bind to c-myc G-quadruplex DNA through either groove binding or π–π stacking, and the relative difluorinated site in the main ligand plays a role in regulating the binding mode. The binding behavior of these complexes with c-myc G-quadruplex DNA was evaluated using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, fluorescence intercalator displacement assay, fluorescence resonance energy transfer melting assay, and polymerase chain reaction. The comprehensive analysis indicated that complex 1 exhibited a better affinity and stability in relation to c-myc G-quadruplex DNA with a DC50 of 6.6 μM and ΔTm values of 13.09 °C, than other molecules. Further activity evaluation results displayed that this class of complexes can also inhibit the growth of various tumor cells, especially complexes 3 and 6, which exhibited a better inhibitory effect against human U87 glioblastoma cells (51.61 and 23.75 μM) than other complexes, even superior to cisplatin (32.59 μM). Owing to a befitting lipophilicity associated with the high intake of drugs by tumor cells, complexes 3 and 6 had favorable lipid-water partition coefficients of −0.6615 and −0.8077, respectively. Moreover, it was found that complex 6 suppressed the proliferation of U87 cells mainly through an induced obvious S phase arrest and slight apoptosis, which may have resulted from the stabilization of c-myc G-quadruplex DNA to block the transcription and expression of c-myc. In brief, these types of arene Ru(II) complexes with difluorinated ligands can be developed as potential inducers of S-phase arrest and apoptosis through the binding and stabilization of c-myc G-quadruplex DNA, and could be used in clinical applications in the future.

It has long been acknowledged that the various burgeoning problems inflicting the world are deeply rooted in human behaviour. Governance often entails policy formulation and strategies that initiate behavioural change to alleviate such problems and foster sustainability. However, this often appears as a strenuous endeavour, especially at the macro level. For this reason, implementing the behavioural spillover mechanism is deemed befitting. Few studies have directed their attention towards the relationship of individuals’ sustainable behaviour across different settings, and such a perspective could indicate the way forward required within various future policy frameworks. Hence, the following intervention study attempts to examine behavioural spillover, which entails the transfer of attitudes from one domain to another, in this case, from a work-home perspective. This chapter builds upon such notion through a case study from the Maltese islands, the smallest EU member state, by providing insights from public officers. Such sampling population was selected as these individuals work closely within governmental structures and should act as agents of change in this regard. The methodological framework employs a positivist paradigm, based on a quasi-experimental design through an identical pretest and posttest Likert-scale questionnaire distributed to 14 public officers who undertook an educational module about sustainability at the University of Malta. These tests aimed to examine whether spillover of sustainable behaviour occurs within a spatio-temporal context – across the two different domains and during the entire intervention adopted. Quantitative findings are utilized to address two core research questions, from which various trends have been identified. Results show that positive spillover occurs for those behaviours which involve the least time, cost, and effort. It transpires that respondents are not willing to adopt drastic lifestyle changes. Such findings lay the foundation for the recommendations delineated in the current study, which might be helpful to other practitioners in public policy, management, and sustainable development.

Social Media is the new avenue for creating connections and sharing of information. Through social media, one can reach a global community. In recent years, we have seen how social media has changed the way we do things. Social Media has been extensively utilized for health education and promotion, proving itself to be an invaluable tool for public health, professional networking and patient care benefit. The challenge has been to use the power afforded by social media responsibly, and to define the line between use and abuse. While there may be laws, implementation proves to be a challenge in the digital age. Therefore, self-regulation and institutional policy remain a critical part. It is therefore urged that hospitals and health care facilities adopt their own social media use policy appropriate for the institution. Below are proposed rules that could guide institutions in developing their own policy for social media use: Sec. 1. Declaration of Policy. The health facility recognizes that the exercise of the freedom of expression comes with a responsibility and a duty to respect the rights of others. The health facility likewise acknowledges the fundamental right to privacy of every individual. This policy shall provide rules for responsible social media use. Sec. 2. Definition. For purposes of this policy, the following definitions shall be used: Social Media refers to electronic communication, websites or applications through which users connect, interact or share information or other content with other individuals, collectively part of an online community. This includes Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Blogs, Social Networking sites. Health facility shall refer to the hospital or other health care facilities, including training and educational institutions. Individual shall refer to physicians, employees, other health facility staff, residents, or students to which this policy would apply Sec. 3. Applicability. This policy shall apply to all physicians, health professionals, employees and other health facility staff, including students or residents in training, practicing their profession, working, or fulfilling academic and clinical requirements within the health facility, whether temporary or permanent. Sec. 4. General Principles. Social media use shall be guided by the following principles: In using social media, an individual should always be mindful of his or her duties to the patient and community, his profession and his colleagues. The individual should always be conscious of his or her online image and how it impacts his or her profession, or the institution where he or she is professionally employed, affiliated or otherwise connected. Responsible social media use also requires the individual to ensure that in his or her social media activity, there is no law violated, including copyright, libel and cybercrime laws. At all times, the individual shall respect the right of privacy of others. Use of social media requires a personal commitment to uphold the ethical standards required of those providing health services, upon which patient trust is built. Sec. 5. Social Media for Health Education or Promotion a.The individual using social media for health education or promotion must be well-informed of the matter subject of the social media post, comment or other activity. The individual shall refrain from any activity which spreads or tends to spread misinformation. An article written by an individual and posted in social media must be evidence-based and disclose connections with pharmaceutical or health product companies or other sources of possible conflict of interest. c.Social media shall not be used to dispense specific medical diagnosis, advice, treatment or projection but shall consist of general opinions only. Use of social media should include statements that a person should not rely on the advice given online, and that medical concerns are best addressed in the appropriate setting. The individual shall be careful in posting or publishing his or her opinion and shall ensure that such opinion will not propagate misinformation or constitute a misrepresentation. The individual shall not make any misrepresentations in his or her social media activity relating to content, his or her employment or credentials, and any other information that may be misconstrued or taken out of context. Sec. 6. Professionalism in Social Media Use Individuals are discouraged from using a single account for both professional and private use. Be mindful that an electronic mail address used professionally may readily be linked to a social media site used privately. The individual shall conduct himself or herself in social media or online the same way that he would in the public, mindful of acting in a manner befitting his profession, or that would inspire trust in the service he or she provides, especially if the individual has not separated his or her professional and personal accounts in social media. The individual shall likewise refrain from using the name, logo or other symbol of an institution without prior authority in his or her social media activity. An individual shall not identify himself or herself as a representative of an institution in social media without being authorized to do so. Individuals shall not accept former or current patients as friends or contacts in their personal accounts, unless there is justification to do so, such as a pre-existing relationship or when unavoidable for patient care. In case of online interaction with patients, this should be limited to matters related to the patient’s treatment and management, and which could be properly disclosed. Informal and personal information concerning a patient, colleague or the health facility shall not be posted, shared or otherwise used in social media. Social media shall not be used to establish inappropriate relationships with patients or colleagues, and shall not be used to obtain information that would negatively impact on the provision of services and professional management of the patient. An individual shall refrain from posting, sharing or otherwise using photos or videos taken within the health facility, which would give the impression of unprofessionalism, show parts of the health facility where there is an expectation of privacy, or those which includes colleagues, employees, other health facility staff, or patients without their express consent. The consent requirement shall apply even if the other individuals included are not readily identifiable. Sec. 7. Responsible Social Media Activity In using social media, the individual shall respect the dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of another. The individual shall not post, share or otherwise use social media with the intent of damaging the reputation of any other individual or institution, especially if the subject is identified or identifiable. c.Derogatory comments about patients, colleagues, employers and institutions or companies should be avoided. An individual may “like” a defamatory post but he or she must use caution when sharing, retweeting or contributing anything that might be construed as a new defamatory statement. A post, comment or other social media activity is considered defamatory if: 1) The activity imputes a discreditable act or condition to another; 2) The activity is viewed or seen by any other person; 3) The person or institution defamed is identified or readily identifiable; 4) There is malice or intent to damage the reputation of another. He or she shall be careful of sharing posts or other contents that are unverified, particularly if it discredits another person or institution, or imputes the commission of a crime or violation of law even before trial and judgment, and violates the privacy of another. Fair and true reporting on matters of public concern shall be allowed provided that the content was obtained lawfully and with due respect for the right of privacy. An individual shall not use copyrighted materials other than for fair use where there is proper citation of source and author. Use of copyrighted material for purpose of criticism, comment, news, reporting, teaching, scholarship, research, and similar purposes is compatible with fair use. An individual is prohibited from: 1) Social media activities that defame, harass, stalk, or bully another person or institution. 2) The use or access of personal social media accounts of others without authority. 3) Posting, sharing or otherwise using any information intended to be private or obtained through access to electronic data messages or documents. 4) Posting, sharing or otherwise using recorded conversations between doctors, individuals or patients, when such recording, whether audio or video, was obtained without consent of all the parties to the conversation Individuals should use conservative privacy settings in their social media account used professionally. The individual should also practice due diligence in keeping their social media accounts safe such as through regular password change and logging out after social media use. Sec. 8. Health Information Privacy The individual shall respect the right to privacy of others and shall not collect, use, access or disclose information, pictures and other personal or sensitive information without obtaining consent from the individual concerned. Physicians, health facility employees and other health staff shall have the duty of protecting patient confidentiality in their social media activity. Personal health information, including photos or videos of patients, shall not be posted, shared or otherwise used in social media without consent of patient. Consent shall be obtained after explaining to the patient the purpose of the intended collection, use, access and disclosure. Consent for use of personal health information shall be written or evidenced by electronic means. An individual shall not post, share or otherwise use any information which could be used to identify patients without their consent, including patient’s location, room numbers, and photographs or videos of patients or their body parts, including code names referring to patients. The individual shall not post, share or otherwise use any other information acquired in attending to a patient in a professional capacity, and which would blacken the reputation of the patient. The duty of maintaining patient confidentiality remains even after patient’s death. An individual shall not post, share or otherwise use any information relating to the identity, status and personal details of persons with HIV, those who have undergone drug rehabilitation, and victims of domestic violence, rape and child abuse. Sec. 9. Compliance and Reporting. An individual shall strive to develop, support and maintain a privacy culture in the health facility. He or she shall abide by the social media use policy of the institution. An individual who becomes aware of unprofessional behavior, misinformation or privacy violations in social media shall report the matter to the hospital’s privacy officer or the proper office or authority within the facility. Health facilities shall in so far as practicable monitor the social media activity of all physicians, employees and other health facility staff, including students or residents in training, practicing their profession, working, or fulfilling academic and clinical requirements within the health facility, whether temporary or permanent. Sec. 10. Penalty. A violation of this policy may constitute a violation of the code of ethics of physicians and other professions, and other applicable laws. Health Professionals, employees and other Health Facility Staff. Any person found violating this policy will be considered in violation of health facility rules and regulations, and shall be subjected to health facility administrative proceedings, which after notice and hearing, and depending on the severity of the violation, could result to termination of service or withdrawal of privileges. A lighter penalty may likewise be imposed. In determining the severity of the violation, the following factors may be considered: previous violation, if any, the nature of the violation, and the extent of injury or damage. The penalty imposed by the health facility shall be without prejudice to the filing of a complaint before the Civil Service Commission, the Professional Regulations Commission, the Office of the Prosecutor or Ombudsman, or proper courts. Students. In case of students, they shall be reported to the college wherein they are enrolled and shall be subjected to disciplinary proceedings, which could result to expulsion, depending on the severity of the violation, and in accordance with the applicable University and respective College rules. A lighter penalty may likewise be imposed. The disciplinary proceedings shall be without prejudice to other applicable legal remedies.

Digital Articulations of the Relational Self Identity continues to be one of the enduring topics in digital media research. This interdisciplinary take on the digital self extends the discussion in my dissertation (Harju) of contemporary articulations of the relational self in the digital context by focusing on potentiality of the evolving self. I adopt a relational approach to being (Gergen Relational) where the self is seen as always already a product of relations, borne out of them as well as dependent on them (Gergen Realities). The self as fluid and processual is reflective of our liquid times (Bauman), of globalisation and digitalisation where we are surrounded by global flows of images, taste and trends (Appadurai).The view of the self as a process underlies future-oriented action, emphasing the becoming of the self. The process of becoming implies the potential of the self that can be narrated into existence. The relational view of the self, perhaps indirectly, also posits the self as a temporal interface between the present and the future, as a site where change unfolds. It is therefore important to critically reflect on the kinds of potentialities we can discover and engage with and the kinds of futures (Berardi) we can construct.Extending Gergen’s conceptualisation of the kinds of relations to include non-human actors (e.g. media technologies) as well socio-cultural and economic forces allows me to explore the conflicting forces shaping the self, for example, the influence the market exerts on self-construction together with the media logics that guide digital self-production practices. Because of the market’s dominant position in today’s imagination, I seek to explore the relational processes of inclusion and exclusion that position individuals relative to as well as in terms of the market as more or less included or excluded subjects (Harju).The digital environment is a unique setting for identity projects as it provides spatial and temporal flexibility, the possibility for curation, consideration and reconstruction. At the same time, it lacks a certain historicity; as Smith and Watson note, the self constructed online lacks narrative beginning and end that in “analog life writing [are] distinguishable by birth or death” (90). While it is tempting therefore to assume that self-construction online is free from all constraints, this is not necessarily so as the self is nevertheless produced within the wider socio-cultural context in which it also needs to “make sense,” these conditions persisting across these modes of being. Self as a relational process inevitably connects what for analytical purposes may be called online and offline social spaces as there is a processual linkage, a relational flow, that connects any online entity to a form outside the digital realm.Media institutions and the process of mediation (Rak Boom!) shape the autobiographical practices (Poletti), and the notion of automedia was introduced as a way to incorporate images, text and technologies as constitutive in autobiographic accounts (Smith and Watson) and help see online life as life instead of mere representation (Rak "Life"). The automedial approach rejects essentialist accounts of the self, assuming rather that the self is called into being and constructed in and by the materiality of the medium, in the process of mediation. This furthermore entails a move beyond the literary in terms of autobiographies toward consideration of the enabling and restricting roles of media technologies in the kinds of selves that can be constructed (Maguire 74).Viewing the self as always already relationally emergent (Gergen Relational) and combining this view with the framework of automedial construction of the self allows us to bring into the examination of the digital self the socio-cultural and economic forces and the diverse discourses meeting at the site of the self. Importantly, the relational approach prioritises relations and therefore the self is constituted in a relational flow in a process of becoming, placing importance on the kinds of relational configurations where the becoming of the self takes place.This paper explores how the digital self is forged under the joint pressures of consumerist logic and media logics in the contemporary society where “being a consumer” is the predominant subjectivity (Firat; Bauman). I draw on sociology of consumption to examine the relational tensions shaping identity construction of marginalised individuals. To empirically illustrate the discussion I draw on a previous study (Harju and Huovinen) on plus-sized fashion blogging and examine fatshion blogging as a form of automedia (see also Rak "Digital" on blogs).Plus-Sized Fashion Bloggers and Market-Mediated IdentityPlus-sized fashion bloggers, “fatshionistas,” actively seek social and cultural inclusion by way of fashion. As a collective activity, plus-sized fashion blogging is more than diary writing (see also Rak Digital) but also more than fashion blogging: the blogs constitute “networked, collective and active consumer resistance,” illuminating “marginalised consumers’ identity work at the intersection of commercial culture and the counter-representations of traditional femininity” (Harju and Huovinen 1603). Blogging resistant or subversive identities into being is thus also a form of activism and political action (Connell). As a form of automedia and autobiographical production, fatshion blogging has as its agenda the construction of alternative subjectivities and carving out a legitimate social space in the “fatosphere,” “a loosely interconnected network of online resources aimed at creating a safe space where individuals can counter fat prejudice, resist misconceptions of fat, engage in communal experiences and promote positive understandings of fat” (Gurrieri and Cherrier 279). Fashion blogs are rich in self-images portraying “fat fashion”: thus, not only fashion as a physical medium and the images representative of such materiality, but also the body acts as a medium.Plus-sized fashion bloggers feel marginalised as women due to body size but they also face rejection in and by the market. Normalised discourses around fashion and the female body as one that is fashioned render fashion blogging an avenue to normativity (Berlant): the symbolic power of taste (Bourdieu) embedded in fashion is harnessed to construct the desired self and to mobilise discourses of acceptable subjectivity. However, it is these very discourses that also construct the “state of being fat” as deviant and stigmatise the larger body as something falling outside the definition of good taste (LeBesco).The description on the Fatshionista! Livejournal page summarizes the agenda that despite the focus on fashion carries political undertones:Welcome, fatshionistas! We are a diverse fat-positive, anti-racist, disabled-friendly, trans-inclusive, queer-flavored, non-gender-specific community, open to everyone. Here we will discuss the ins and outs of fat fashions, seriously and stupidly--but above all--standing tall, and with panache. We fatshionistas are self-accepting despite The Man's Saipan-made boot at our chubby, elegant throats. We are silly, and serious, and want shit to fit.In a previous study (Harju and Huovinen) on the conflicted identity construction of plus-sized fashion bloggers (see also Gurrieri and Cherrier; Limatius) we found the complex performative tactics used in constructing the plus-sized blogger identity both resisted the market as well as embraced it: the bloggers seek similarity via appeals to normativity (see also Coleman and Figueroa) yet underline difference by rejecting the demands of normative ideals.The bloggers’ similarity seeking tactics (Harju and Huovinen) emphasise shared commonalities with the feminine ideals (ultra-femininity, posing and girliness) and on the face of it contribute to reproducing not only the gendered self but also the market-compromised self that endorses a very specific type of femininity. The plus-sized blogger identity, although inherently subversive as it seeks to challenge and expand the repertoire and imagery available to women, nevertheless seeks inclusion by way of the market, the very same that rejected them as “consumers”. This relational tension is negotiated on the blogs, and resistance emerges through articulating difference.Thus, the bloggers’ diversity asserting tactics (Harju and Huovinen) add to the complexity of the identity project and constitute explicit resistance, giving rise to resistant consumer identity. Bodily differences are highlighted (e.g. the bigger body is embraced, skin and body revealed rather than concealed) as the bloggers take control of how they are represented, using media to challenge the market that defines acceptable femininity in ways that ostracises fat women. The contradictory processes at the site of the self give rise to relational tension (Gergen Relational) and blogging offers a site for collective negotiation. For the plus-sized bloggers, to be included means no longer occupying the margins: self-images displaying the fat body contribute to corporeal empowerment (Harju and Huovinen) where flaunting the fat body helps construct the identity of a “fatshionista” blogger liberated from shame and stigma attached to the bigger body:I decided to start this blog after being a regular poster on the Fatshionista LiveJournal community. Finding that community changed my whole outlook on life, I was fat (still am) & unhappy with myself (not so much now). I was amazed to find a place where fat people celebrated their bodies, instead of being ashamed. (Harju and Huovinen 1614).The fatshion blog as a form of automedia is driven by the desire for change in the social circumstances where self-construction can take place, toward the future potential of the self, by diversifying acceptable subject positions and constructing novel identification points for fat women. The means are limited, however, and despite the explicit agenda of promoting body positivity, the collective aspirations are rooted in consumption and realised in the realm of fashion and the market.The question, therefore, is whether resistance outside the market is possible when so much of our social existence is bound up with the market and consumerist logic, or whether the desire for inclusion, manifest in aspirational normativity (Berlant) with the promise of social acceptance linked to normative way of life, necessitates market participation and the adoption of consumer subjectivity? Consumer subjectivity offers normative intelligibility in the various expressions of identity, providing tools for the becoming of an included subject. However, it raises the question of whether resistant identity can occur outside the market and outside the logic of consumption when it seeks social inclusion.Market-compromised identity is a double-edged sword; while participation via the market may help construct a self that is intelligible, market participation also disciplines the subject to take part in a certain way, of becoming a certain type of consuming subject, all the time harnessing the self for the benefit of the market. With no beginning or an end, the digital self is in constant processual flux, responding to conflicting relational input. The market adds to this complexity as “the neoliberal subject is compelled to participate in society as both an enthusiastic consumer and as a self-controlled subject” (Guthman 193).Social Imaginaries as Horizons of Constrained Possibility Identity possibilities are inscribed in the popular imagination, and the concept of social imaginary (Castoriadis; Taylor) provides a useful lens through which to examine articulations of the digital self. Social imaginaries are not unitary constructions and different imaginaries are evoked in different contexts. Likewise, although often shared, they are nevertheless unique to the individual, presenting as a terrain of conceivable action befitting of the individual engaged in the act of imagining.In our socially saturated times relational input is greater than ever (Gergen Relational). Imagining now draws on a wider range of identity possibilities, the ways of imagining the self being reflective of the values of any given time. Both consumption and media infiltrate the social imagination which today is not only compromised by market logic but has become constitutive of a terrain where the parameters for inclusion, change and resistance are limited. Practices of performing desirable femininity normalise a certain way of being and strike a constitutive boundary between what is desirable and what is not. The plus-sized fashion blogging makes visible the lack of diversity in the popular imagination (Harju and Huovinen) while fatshion blogging also reveals what possibilities there are for inclusion (i.e. via consumption and by mobilising normative femininity) and where the boundaries of identity work lie (see also Connell).The fat body is subjected to discipline (Giovanelli and Ostertag; LeBesco) and “becoming fat” is regularly viewed as a lack of control. Not limited to fat subjects, the prevalent discourses of the self emphasise control and responsibility for the self (rather than community), often masquerading as self-approval. The same discourses, however, highlight work on the self (McRobbie) and cultivating the self by various means of self-management or self-tracking (Rettberg). Such self-disciplining carries the implication of the self as somewhat lacking (Skeggs Imagining, Exchange), of being in some way unintelligible (Butler).In plus-sized blogging, the fat body needs to be subjected to fashioning to become intelligible within the dominant discourses in the public sphere. The fatshionista community is a politically oriented movement that rejects the normative demands governing the body, yet regimes of ‘self-improvement’ are evident on the individual blogs displaying the fashioned body, which is befitting of the normative understandings of the female subject as sexualised, as something to be consumed (see also Maguire). Contrary to the discourses of fat female subjects where the dimension of sexuality is largely absent, this is also linked to the problematics related to the visibility of female subjects. The negotiation of relational tension is manifest as negotiation of competing discourses where bloggers adopt the hegemonic visual discourses to subvert the stigmatising discourses that construct the fat female subject as lacking. Utilising media logics (e.g. micro-celebrity) to gain visibility as fat subjects is an important aspect of the fatshionistas’ automedial self-construction.I argue that social imaginaries that feed into identity construction and offer pathways to normalcy cannot be seen simply and only as enabling, but instead they construct horizons of constrained possibility (Harju), thereby imposing limitations to the kind of acceptable identity positions marginalised individuals can seek. Digital productions form chains of symbolic entities and acquire their meaning by being interconnected as well as by being connected to popular social imaginaries. Thus, the narrative construction of the self in the digital production, and the recognition of the self in the becoming, is the very utility of the digital object. This is because through the digital artefact the individual becomes relationally linked to chains of significations (Harju). Through such linkages and subverted discourses, the disenfranchised may become enfranchised.Toward Horizons of Potentiality and PossibilityThe relational self is a process under continual change and thus always becoming. This approach opens up new avenues for exploring the complexities of the digital self that is never ‘just’ a reproduction. Automedia entails both the media about the maker (the subject) and the process of mediating the self (Rak "Life" 161) The relational approach helps overcome the binary distinction in modes of being (online versus offline), instead bringing into focus the relational flow between various articulations of the self in different relational scenarios. Then perhaps the question is not “what kinds of selves become or are borne digital” (Rak Life 177), but what kinds of selves are possible in the first place under the current conditions that include the digital as one mode of being, mediating the becoming, with the digital as one relational space of articulation of the self among many.Where in On Being Online I discussed the constraining effects of market ideology embedded in social imaginaries on how the self can be articulated, Berardi in his book Futurability offers a more optimistic take, noting how the different paths we take result in different possibilities becoming realised, resulting in different social realities in the future. Future is not a linear development from the present; rather, the present harbours the potential for multiple futures. Berardi notes how the “[f]uture is not prescribed but inscribed, so it must be selected and extracted through interpretation” (236). Despite the dominant code - which in our times is consumption (Baudrillard) - hindering the process of interpretation, there is hope in Berardi’s notion of inscribed possibilities for resistance and change, for different ways of being and becoming.This is the space the plus-sized fashion bloggers occupy as they grasp the potentialities in the present and construct new ways of being that unfold as different social realities in the future. In blogging, platform affordances together with other media technologies are intertwined with future-oriented life narration in the construction of the fatshionista identity which involves retrospective interpretation of life experiences as a fat woman as well as self-liberation in the form of conscious rejection of the dominant discourses around fat female subjects.The digital self is able to negotiate such diverse, even conflicting forces in the active shaping of the social reality of its existence. Blogging as automedia can constitute an act of carving out alternative futures not limited to the digital realm. Perhaps when freed from aspirational normativity (Berlant) we are able to recover hope in the inscribed possibilities that might also hide the potential for a transition from a subjectivity enslaved to the market logic (see Firat Violence) to a self actively engaged in changing the social circumstances and the conditions in which subjectivity is construed (see Firat and Dholakia). In the becoming, the digital self occupies a place between the present and the future, enmeshed in various discourses of aspiration, mediated by material practices of consumption and articulated within the limits of current media practices (Harju). A self in the making, it is variably responsive to the multitude of relational forces continually flowing at the site of it.Although the plus-sized bloggers’ identity work can be seen as an attempt to transform or discipline the self into something more intelligible that better fits the existing narratives of the self, they are also adding new narratives to the repertoire. If we adopt the view of self-conception as discourse about the self, that is, “the performance of languages available in the public sphere” (Gergen, Realities 185) whereby the self is made culturally intelligible by way of narration within ongoing relationships, we can see how the existing cultural discourses of the self are not only inclusive, but also alienating and othering. There is a need for identity politics that encourage the production of alternative discourses of the self for more inclusive practices of imagining. 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Questa tesi verte sulla maniera in cui i principali Stoici romani, vale a dire Seneca, Musonio Rufo, Epitteto, Ierocle e Marco Aurelio, concepivano e si servivano della nozione di καθῆκον (officium in latino), ereditata dalla tradizione stoica precedente. L’idea centrale che argomentiamo nel corso della tesi è che gli Stoici romani avevano tutti una concezione forte del καθῆκον, che testimonia una loro tendenza teorica comune, derivata dalla riflessione degli Stoici precedenti su questa nozione; inoltre, la prospettiva degli Stoici romani sul καθῆκον ci permette di conoscerne aspetti trascurati dalle fonti dossografiche apparentemente più informative a questo proposito: pensiamo, per esempio, al rapporto fra καθήκοντα e parenesi, all’importanza delle emozioni nel compimento dei καθήκοντα e all’antagonismo fra καθήκοντα e πάθη. Nella letteratura critica esistente sull’etica stoica e sul pensiero degli Stoici romani la tematica del καθῆκον è spesso considerata tangenzialmente rispetto ad altre, soprattutto perché, a eccezione di Epitteto, gli Stoici romani non tematizzano quasi mai la nozione di καθῆκον. Tuttavia, la nostra ricostruzione della rete concettuale del καθῆκον nella tradizione stoica ci permette di riconoscere la presenza, importante sebbene talora implicita, di questa nozione nella riflessione e nell’insegnamento degli stoici romani. Riusciamo così a delineare, per quanto possibile, la concezione del καθῆκον di questi filosofi. Le sujet de cette thèse est la façon dont les principaux stoïciens romains, tels que Sénèque, Musonius Rufus, Épictète, Hiéroclès et Marc Aurèle, ont conçu et employé la notion de καθῆκον (officium en latin), héritée de la tradition stoïcienne précédente. L’idée que nous y soutenons est que les stoïciens romains avaient tous une conceptualisation forte du καθῆκον, témoignant d’une tendance théorique commune entre eux qu’ils dérivaient de la réflexion des stoïciens précédents sur cette notion ; de plus, leur perspective sur le καθῆκον nous permet d’en connaître des aspects négligés par les sources doxographiques apparemment les plus éclairantes à ce sujet : nous pensons par exemple au lien entre καθήκοντα et parénèse, à l’importance des émotions dans l’accomplissement des καθήκοντα et à l’antagonisme entre καθήκοντα et πάθη. Dans la littérature critique existante concernant l’éthique stoïcienne ou bien la pensée des stoïciens romains, le thème du καθῆκον est souvent considéré marginalement par rapport à d’autres, surtout parce que, sauf pour Épictète, les autres stoïciens romains ne thématisent presque jamais la notion de καθῆκον. Cependant, une fois compris le réseau conceptuel du καθῆκον dans la tradition stoïcienne, nous parvenons à reconnaître la présence, importante bien que parfois implicite, de cette notion dans la réflexion et l’enseignement des stoïciens romains. Par cette méthode nous reconstruisons, dans la mesure du possible, la conceptualisation du καθῆκον par ces philosophes. This thesis deals with how the most important Roman Stoics, i.e. Seneca, Musonius Rufus, Epictetus, Hierocles and Marcus Aurelius, conceived and employed the notion of καθῆκον (officium in Latin), that they inherited from the previous Stoic tradition. Our claim is that all the Roman Stoics shared a strong conception of καθῆκον, in accordance with a general theoretical stance derived from the tradition of the earlier Stoics. Moreover, the perspective of the Roman Stoics on this topic allows us to discover some aspects of the καθῆκον that are neglected by the doxographic sources, apparently the most informative ones on this topic: we are thinking, for example, about the link between καθήκοντα and paraenesis, about the importance of emotions in performing καθήκοντα and about the opposition between καθήκοντα and πάθη. In the scholarship concerning Stoic ethics or the thought of the Roman Stoics, the theorical domain of the καθῆκον is often considered tangentially with regards to others, especially because the Roman Stoics almost never focus on the notion of καθῆκον, Epictetus being a notable exception. However, reconstructing the conceptual network of the καθῆκον in the Stoic tradition allows us to recognize its presence, important though sometimes implicit, in the Roman Stoics’ reflection and teaching. Thus, we manage to re-establish, insofar as possible, these philosophers’ conception of καθῆκον.

This chapter investigates the turn toward modernism embodied by the bold Art Deco structure erected by the Daily News in 1930, a new form to house the new form of the tabloid. As New York grew to be the largest city in the world in 1925, the emergence of tabloids and radio changed the media landscape once again. Taking their cues from the enhanced corporate image that the Singer, Woolworth, and Chrysler Buildings had brought to their companies, newspapers advertised with yet taller corporate architecture. The buildings looked not to the past but toward the future, as was befitting a new cosmopolitanism. These forward-looking designs branded the media according to the emerging principles of public relations, iconography, and advertising.

At Fault: James Joyce and the Crisis of the Modern University argues that American universities have lost their way and that the works of James Joyce will put them back on the scent. In American university education today, an excess of caution has led to a serious error in our education system. To be “at fault” is to have lost one’s path: the university’s current crisis in confidence can be addressed by attending to the lessons that Joyce teaches us. Joyce models risk-taking in all three areas of the academic enterprise: research, teaching, and service. His texts go out of bounds, resisting the end, pushing beyond themselves. Joyce writes in an outlaw language, and the acknowledgment of failure is written into every right action. At stake is the enterprise of humanism: without an appreciation of error, and an understanding of infinite possibility, the university will calcify and lose its right to lead the nations of the world. The book draws upon the author’s thirty years of teaching experience to demonstrate what works in the classroom when teaching Joyce and makes a powerful contribution to debates on interdisciplinarity and university teaching. There are chapters on centrifugal motion, gramophones, elephants, fox-hunting, philately, brain mapping, and baseball: a compendium of approaches befitting the ever-expanding world of James Joyce.

This chapter addresses the ideal conduct and comportment of elders, from general exhortations to act one's age to more detailed directives that constitute the fascinating yet unknown genre of Jewish elder ethics. The chapter talks about how Jewish writers placed higher expectations on the old, while they directed scorn at old men who acted shamelessly, as if still in the flower of their youth, with no heed to their changed condition or imminent mortality. It stresses how the idealized conduct of an elder is reflected in the cultural practices for honouring the old. The chapter examines the various gestures required or encouraged as an expression of the honour befitting an elder. In a poignant expression of the Jewish culture of honour, rabbinic literature underscored the importance of treating elders who have lost a sense of their own dignity through senility with particular sensitivity.

In part I the discussion of talent began with a poetic scene and ended with reflective after-thoughts, befitting the theoretical nature of the subject. The quest to recognize the spark of potential talent in young children brings us into the very real world of the school classroom. Suppose it is your task to observe student behavior in a third grade elementary music class and identify students who show evidence of potential talent. Your attention is drawn to the following students: . . . Student A is playing a melody from her music book on a xylophone. She decides to elaborate by creating a “variation.” Excited, she busily starts notating and revising her ideas on manuscript paper. . . . . . . Observation Notes: Musical training is evident. Performs with ease. Shows curiosity, creativity in musical tasks. An outstanding student. . . . . . . Student B is sitting in a listening center with headphones on, totally absorbed in the activity of circling patterns he hears. He taps his pencil as he listens, quickly working through the ear-training exercise. A quick check shows that his answers are correct. . . . . . . Observation Notes: Fine-tuned listening. Quite perceptive and quick in complex listening tasks. He is rather shy in group activities. . . . . . . Student C volunteers to sing and act out a solo in a cowboy song. He performs with confidence, singing in tune and with expression, obviously enjoying himself. His performance is met with spontaneous applause. . . . . . . Observation Notes: Quite a showman. Comfortable in front of an audience. Clear, clean vocal quality and intonation. Performs with personal flair. Shows leadership skills in group activities. Energy plus enthusiasm. . . . . . . Student D works with a number of Orff instruments, simply “fooling around” with sounds and rhythms. Each repetition shows a bit more development of an imaginative improvisation, which she describes as a “summer storm.” . . . . . . Observation Notes: Sensitive awareness of mood in music. Syncopated rhythms used in improvisation—retained well by ear. Adept at learning by ear. Not comfortable working with notation. . . . . . .

The sociopolitical controversies on campus that have resulted in “safe spaces” have pressured traditional structures based on proxemics, such as the mentorship, to reinvent themselves or disappear. In the chapter, “proximity” itself is defined not in terms of spatial contiguity but as an attentional structure by which the mentee achieves an intimate understanding at a distance of the objective achievements in teaching and writing that distinguish her mentor and other role models and that provoke acts of creative mimesis and exegesis by the mentee. Inspired by the ancient Stoic practice of the “care of the self” as explicated by Michel Foucault, the crux of the redefined mentored relation is not inculcating knowledge but guiding the growth of the mentee's critical consciousness in preparation for a career and a life well-lived, befitting a noble spirit. Since the focus of the redefined mentored relation privileges distance and objective spirit (via the critical study of works) over personal interaction, the scholarly autonomy of the mentee is a noteworthy learning outcome.